Posts Tagged Perspective

This week: deliberating about the setting and what we’ve seen about the city of Ergastulum in Gangsta., curiosities about continuing delusions in Gakkou Gurashi!, noticing and appreciating the music in Rokka no Yuusha, and a statement about disposing drugs down the toilet with Durarara!!x2 Ten.

This week: analyzing the delicate balance between entertainment and realism in Shirobako, questioning the subjectivity of evidence and judgments in Death Parade, justifying what makes the setting so successful and vibrant in Durarara!!x2 Shou, and gushing about the unique personality in The Rolling Girls.

The first day of 2015 means it’s the first day we can turn, look back, and reflect upon 2014 as a whole. Today, I aim to present the results of my own introspection and analysis on all the anime I watched in 2014. I will present my final thoughts on the most remarkable, memorable and outstanding anime that aired in 2014 by revealing lists for both my favorite characters of the year and the top anime of 2014. So, how exactly will I remember 2014, and which of the anime that aired is simply the best to me?

Every year, I make an attempt to determine what single episode of every anime that I watched that was my absolute favorite. For some years, the decision is easy, such as 2011 (Puella Magi Madoka Magica episode 10) and 2012 (Sengoku Collection episode 18). For other years, it’s a real challenge. It’s demanding when you’re trying to decide between a number of exceptional episodes with no clear choice. For me, 2014 is the latter with three candidates vying for the honor of my favorite episode of the year. And since I remain undecided on this evaluation, still mulling my opinions for each, I’ll present the three episodes here to illustrate what I am going through.

I’ve been terrible with staying current on anime movies. As you can probably guess from how I struggle to stay on time with my TV anime and with my blog posts, you can imagine how difficult it is for me to be up-to-date on all the anime movies that air every season. And with my movie backlog continuing to grow and grow, I made a decision early on in 2014 to make an effort to watch anime movies this year… and not just the ones that air, but to go back and catch up on all the ones I’ve missed.

The anime specials that are included as bonus materials on BDs and DVDs are frequently overlooked and underappreciated as individual anime. Yes, these specials are certainly subpar compared to their respective parent anime, but considering their limited animation budget and restrained writing, it’s unfair to categorize these shorts in the same venue as we do with TV anime. In fact, quite a few of these BD/DVD specials succeed as genuinely entertaining in spite of these restrictions, supplementing these serious TV anime with lighthearted comedy and mild fanservice. And if you want an example of an effective and rewarding BD/DVD special anime, look no further than the Shingeki no Kyojin Picture Drama, a 9-episode series with the main cast as chibi characters enduring constant hardships during their days in the military training program.